The Best Travel Guide Books

Frommer’s: Best for Newbies

Who, what, where, when, and how. That’s what you’ll get from a Frommer’s travel guidebook. Whether it’s your first time away or your first time in a new city, these thick volumes tell you quite literally everything you need to know about wherever you’re going. The basic facts and history sections are simple additions that aren’t exactly necessary, but so helpful when getting acclimated to a new spot; just one little plus that makes these guides so comprehensive! We think they’re the best travel guide books for newbie travelers.

These books can be quite expansive though, so after studying up in trip prep, it might be best to buy Frommer’s “day to day” series, which highlights local walks, special interest tours, and day by day itineraries, complete with map. Together, the guides make for a confident and savvy traveler before and during your trip.

Moon: Best for Nomads

With five very different guidebook categories, Moon has just about everyone covered. And, with its wide variety, Moon offers the best travel guide books that reach destinations not always reached by competitors.

Whether you pick up Handbook, the comprehensive information series; Spotlight, the quickie on-the-run book; or Metro, the discreet city helper, you’ll find a good deal of info about spending time in the outdoors. What to wear, how to eat, temperature, and transportation – all covered.

But, in addition, Moon offers a full Outdoors guide, with in-depth looks at camping areas, biking trails, fishing holes, and much more.

If that’s not enough and you’re looking to settle down for awhile, try the Living Abroad series, which offers amazingly helpful advice in tackling finances and employment, setting up house, and blending in like a native.

Lonely Planet: Best for Movers and Shakers

There are many types of travelers: tourists, nomads, weekend warriors … and Lonely Planet has every single one covered. Start with their comprehensive Shoestring guides which make exploration on-the-cheap a breeze.

And if you’ve been around the travel block a few times, you can give their City series a try, which interviews in-the-know residents for great tips on local hot spots. And these thin books are carry-on friendly to boot!

Plus, they’re available via Twitter with a personal wealth of knowledge.

Wallpaper Guides: Best for Chic Travelers

Need to know every hot spot in a hurry? Don’t wanna look like a tourist? Grab yourself a Wallpaper travel guide. These tiny books have drawn-in the design conscious with their Pantone-like hues based on location.

Aside from aesthetics, they pack a surprising amount of information in such a tiny booklet. Plus, the packaging gives you an extra boost of confidence whether you’re main objective is safety or attractive hot natives.

NFT Guides: Best for Settlers

Moving to a new area? Pick up one of these tiny little black books even if you’re staying for years. Each NFT Guide (stands for Not for Tourists) packs in info only locals know: which watering hole offers half price drinks during Happy Hour, which shopping district is nearest the farmer’s market, etc.

While visitors will love the behind the scenes look at how the city runs, and the cheat sheets with local emergency information and basic city knowledge, lifers also have something to gain by stocking their bookshelves with the series.

Not a paper person? NFT apps are available for download in the iTunes store and offer nearly as much info as your favorite little print guides.

Zagat: Best for Biz Travelers

Zagat? Among the best travel guide books? Sure is. Ever get stuck on a business trip with nowhere to dine but the local Applebee’s, or have to rely on recommendations from the office mailman — a native of your travel destination? Instead of chancing important client meetings (or just a bad tummy ache), hit up your Zagat guide. Besides simple restaurant advice, they offer maps, basic city info, and even books that specialize in city lifestyle and general travel.

Plus, the diminutive size and sleek outfitting makes this a great option to throw in that carry-on. As a bonus: regular users who submit reviews are eligible to receive free guides!

Rick Steves: Best for Travel Writers in Training

Rick Steves might be the globe’s most traveled man — and he documents these excursions to boot. Though anyone can pick up a guide to Paris, or Sydney, or Reno, or wherever they go, Rick’s descriptive jaunts leave readers feeling inspired.

So inspired, in fact, that it may be time to start a travel journal of their own! If you fit into the “travel as an inspiration” category, take a cue from Rick’s detail-oriented trips (look closely at how he highlights street corner shops and ticket booths!) and pick up your own notebook in the airport bookstore.

Fodor’s: Best for Must-See

As far as travel guidebooks go, Fodor’s is one of the top sellers. But why? Though these hearty books have all the basic info, transportation knowledge, and general keys that other books have, they follow with themed chapters of to-do listings that leave The New Yorker quivering in fear.

Ice skating in NYC’s boroughs? You’re covered. Best beaches in the Caribbean? No problem. The thinner Flashmaps series provides only the best to-do’s from its parent book, but includes page by page of detailed maps for those who like to get a little lost. Other guides include Citypack, a wallet-sized guide, kids and family guides, and the Compass books, with inside info from local journalists.

The Best Travel Guide Books Series?

About The Author

Annemarie Dooling is a jetsetting Digital Strategist who still buys magazines to read on plane rides. Her favorite activity is catching bylines (and tweets) on iMedia, Marie Claire, Budget Travel, the AP, and more. Between Tweets, she lives vicariously through French fashion blogs and road trips, which she documents at her personal blog, Frill Seeker Diary.

[…] A great post over on Vagabondish highlights several different travel guides and which audiences they’reÂ tailoredÂ for. For many it will serve as a reminder of what’s out there, but I found the NFT (Not For […]

What about Cadogan? When road tripping all over the Yucatan Peninsula (with a whopping five guidebooks in our car) the one we came back to again and again was the Cadogan Guide by Nick Rider; the best of the bunch, hands down.

@Ahimsa, I also associate Rick Steves with independent travel, and admit I’m a super huge fan. Check out Rick Steves’ weekly radio show, available via podcast – it’s awesome, he has fantastic guests, and they cover everything from traveling in Iran to driving around Mexico in a VW bus.

@Ahimsa. Dorky maybe. But a doofus, Rick Steves is not. I have tons of respect for him.

His guidebooks are impeccably accurate and up-to-date. But more importantly his Europe through the Back Door book teaches the travel skills necessary to travel independently in Europe and have a much richer travel experience by engaging more with locals and understanding each of the cultures.

I feel he is solely responsible for helping many North Americans become much less ignorant when they travel to Europe.

You do raise a good point there, Lauren. But I think he was faking it. See, in this article http://www.worldhum.com/features/rick-steves/the-fate-of-christiania-20091214/ he says “They walked sadly behind a WWII-vintage truck blasting Pink Floydâ€™s â€œAnother Brick in The Wall.â€ (I had never really listened to the words before….”
What kind of stoner has never listened to Pink Floyd before?

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